By David Tanis
- Total Time
- About 45 minutes, plus brining time
- Rating
- 4(471)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Porc aux pruneaux, which is a classic, is by no means fancy, and it is always much more old-fashioned bistro or grandmotherly than high end. Simply put, it is a pork roast with red-wine-soused prunes. Hardly elegant, although it doesn’t have to be heavy either. In France, countless versions of the dish are made in neighborhood joints and at home. Sometimes a large loin or shoulder roast is used, sometimes pan-fried chops. Here we use a lightly brined pork tenderloin, adding stewed shallots to the sauce for depth and texture, and a touch of ginger for brightness. While the roast is in the oven, the shallots simmer with the wine and prunes for the sauce. The dark red sauce (rather unctuous really) is both sweet and tart, with a boozy hint of Madeira. It strikes a Middle European chord somewhere deep within. Serve with sweet potatoes or garnet yams roasted in their skins.
Featured in: City Kitchen: Prunes and Pork, Still in Season
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings.
- 3tablespoons kosher salt
- 3tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼teaspoon allspice berries, crushed
- ¼teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed
- 2bay leaves
- Few thyme branches
- 1pork tenderloin, trimmed, about 1 pound
- 4ounces pitted prunes, about 16 large
- ½cup dry red wine
- ½teaspoon grated ginger
- ½teaspoon grated orange zest
- 1tablespoon olive oil
- 1tablespoon butter
- 3 to 4large shallots, finely diced, about ⅓ cup
- ½teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- Salt and pepper
- 1½cups chicken broth
- 1tablespoon Madeira or port, optional
- 2teaspoons potato starch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water.
For the Brined Pork
For the Sauce and Roast
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
403 calories; 11 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 44 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 25 grams sugars; 27 grams protein; 821 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
To brine the pork: Dissolve the salt and brown sugar in 2 cups cold water in a glass or stainless steel bowl large enough to hold the tenderloin. Add the allspice, peppercorns, bay leaves and thyme. Submerge the meat, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours (overnight is better). Before cooking, remove the tenderloin, pat dry and bring to room temperature. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Step
2
To make the sauce and roast: Simmer the prunes in the red wine until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the ginger and orange zest, and steep for 10 minutes
Step
3
Heat the olive oil in a heavy stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly brown the tenderloin, about 3 minutes per side. (Turn off heat and use the same pan to make the sauce.) Transfer the tenderloin to a small roasting pan. Roast uncovered for about 15 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer registers 140 degrees. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. (Residual heat will cause the meat to continue to cook a bit while resting.)
Step
4
To finish the sauce, melt the butter in the reserved skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and thyme, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, until softened, stirring with a wooden spoon. Scrape up any browned bits to enrich the sauce. Add chicken broth, turn up the heat, and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in the prunes and wine, and simmer for another 2 minutes. Add the Madeira if using. Taste and correct the seasoning, then add the potato starch mixture and cook for another minute to thicken. Spoon sauce and prunes over the sliced tenderloin.
Ratings
4
out of 5
471
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Cooking Notes
Susan
Fantastic recipe! I doubled recipe and made it for a dinner party. Big hit! I served it with fruited Middle Eastern Couscous and garlic green beans. Definitely a keeper. I marinated it overnight and browned the tenderloins in the afternoon so I could have sauce all ready when pork was cooked.
cruzer5
If one doesn't have potato starch on hand, is cornstarch ok to use for thickener?
Janet S.
Wonder how this would be if you skipped the brining?
Eva Santos-Phillips
I enjoy cooking with pork tenderloin and this was a good recipe. I made it for friends and everyone enjoyed it. I served it with buttered spaetzle and green beans.
Md45
This was terrific. I substituted minced figs for the prunes because they are what I had on hand. I also put the wine and figs in the microwave for a minute to warm and steep them right in the measuring glass, then added them to the pan from the pork--I'm a big fan of cutting down on dishes used. Worked beautifully with well-roasted brussel sprouts. Oh, and I didn't even brine the pork. Still was wonderful.
Matthew
I actually did not put the tenderloin in the oven. After the sauce was made, I put it back in the pan, covered and simmered until meat got to 140F. Then I laid it out like in the picture with wide sliced sweet potatoes lining the sides of the tenderloin.
Ane Gade
You can use cornstarch instead of potato starch, just be careful when you stir it in. Works fine.
selma
Yes to the comment about the saltiness from the brining process. I’ll make this recipe again, cutting down the salt by half, and rinsing the meat before browning it. I also added more wine and Madeira to the sauce than was stipulated, and I omitted the potato starch mixed with water because it formed a gummy ball that wouldn’t dissolve in the sauce. That said, the recipe yields a delicious piece of meat and a tasty sauce. It’s also easy to prepare in advance, through the browning stage.
Wendy G
We dry-brined the pork tenderloin instead of wet-brining it. Same flavor profile: used a dry spice blend (thyme, rosemary etc.) and some ground allspice, freshly ground pepper, ground bay, and a little turbinado sugar, and some kosher salt. Rubbed it all over the pork and let it sit in the fridge for several hours or overnight. When it came time to finish the sauce, added a generous teaspoon of Veal Demi glace to the pan sauce. Cut back on the sauce thickener.
Rose
I have made this several times and I have skipped the brining. It's still delicious. Plan on making it with figs instead of prunes because my daughter is allergic.
Kate
Great meal. Served with Martha Shulman’s baked sweet potatoes. I doubled recipe to use both pieces of pork in the twin pack. I tied the pork to make a more compact shape and tuck under the thin tail. That way, they both fit in the pan at once. I only had time to brine for about 4 hours and it was fine, very tender and well seasoned.
Lori
Brining is nice but not necessary. It’s wonderful either way. Brings me back to the first time I ate this, in Aix en Provence in 1993, college spring break, and thought I’d died and gone to heaven.
Chef Carlos
Great recipe! Brining the pork tenderloin made it very juicy and it didn’t need additional seasoning. And the prune and wine sauce was a perfect complement. I roasted chunks of sweet potatoes, starting them 30 minutes before the tenderloin. Perfect with Côtes du Rhône
Rhoda
Was a delicious recipe but I ended up with too much shallot sauce for the 1# tenderloin. Would either cook 2# or reduce the shallots next time. Served with roasted sweet potatoes and steam asparagus.
a cook from Toronto
I could eat this every night! Dry brined the pork with the spice rub but otherwise followed the recipe. Unbelievably delicious!
jacquesto
Wonderfully easy dish to make using the already brined tenderloins sold pre-packaged in supermarkets. The prune sauce and roasted sweet potatoes is new to me, a little different, and I'll do it again.
maria
I was looking for a new way to cook pork tenderloin and tried this, it was absolutely delicious. I was only able to brine for 5 hours but it was enough, the pork was full of flavor and incredibly tender. I didn’t make the sauce as was serving with something that it would not have worked with. Will use this method going forward.
Mary Ann
Excellent recipe! I subbed pomegranate juice for the wine and corn starch for the potato starch - delicious sauce.
Lori
Brining is nice but not necessary. It’s wonderful either way. Brings me back to the first time I ate this, in Aix en Provence in 1993, college spring break, and thought I’d died and gone to heaven.
Mark
sauce took longer to thicken than stated in the recipe.
Judith Spruance
Amazingly delicious sauce! will try dry brining next time because don't like doing the bath but believe some kind of brining helps flavor a lot. Easy to make and can be done ahead and then gently re-heated in 350 oven till hot. A real find for pork tenderloin.
Ricardo
Recommend reducing time for brining too long, overnight only if your making this the following morning, otherwise a tad salty, but flavorful. Potato starch was very problematic choice as a thickener, clump badly on 1st try & yielded poor thickening on 2nd. try. Will try again w/ modifications.
Sue
I adapted this for the instant pot. Brined the tenderloin as above. I browned the tenderloin and the shallots with the saute function then added the red wine, 1 cup of chicken broth, the prunes and the rest of the seasonings except the potato starch. Cooked on high for 3 minutes and then natural release for 10. The internal temperature of the pork was 160 when I opened the instant pot. The tenderloin rested while I switched the instant pot to saute and reduced the sauce for 5 minutes.
Dr Mimzz
Having read the recipe I decided to brown the tenderloin and remove it from the pan. Caramelise the onions and ginger and then add all other sauce ingredients. Cook off the alcohol, return the browned pork, and kumara, (sweet potato),to the pan, lid on, simmer for 60 minutes, thicken the sauce, and serve with buttered cabbage. Divine and very easy.
EM
I found that the potato starch wasn't needed and regretted using it as it made the sauce gloppy. Absolutely delicious taste though. Did it with Green Beans Almondine and the yams and it was a wonderful perfect bite.
tony
Loved this recipe!!!! Definitely will make again. Made a couple of tweaks. I double the recipe for the sauce, because who doesn’t like extra sauce? I only used only a sauce pan and a large cast-iron skillet. Next time…cut a quarter of the salt.
debbykc
ABSOLUTELY THE BEST!!!!! it would appear that brining the pork was the key--moist and really tasty. after years of overly garlicky pork this dish was super delish. the leftovers have been sandwiches and an apple/potato/onion hash (recipe in nyc cooking).....highly recommend
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